Home » Dominica

Dominica

Background: Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica’s fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years.
Government type: parliamentary democracy; republic within the Commonwealth
Capital: Roseau
Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Geography of Dominica

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic coordinates: 15 25 N, 61 20 W
Area:
total: 754 sq. km
land: 754 sq. km
water: 0 sq. km
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 148 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall
Terrain: rugged mountains of volcanic origin
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 67%
other: 8% (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months
Environment – international agreements:
party to:  Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography – note: Dominica is known as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world.

People of Dominica

Almost all Dominicans are descendants of African slaves brought in by colonial planters in the 18th century. Dominica is the only island in the eastern Caribbean to retain some of its pre-Columbian population–the Carib Indians–about 3,000 of whom live on the island’s east coast.

The population growth rate is very low, due primarily to emigration to more prosperous Caribbean Islands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. English is the official language; however, because of historic French domination, the most widely spoken dialect is a French patois. About 80% of the population is Catholic. In recent years, a number of Protestant churches have been established.

Population: 69,029 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:  28.72% (male 10,300; female 10,027)
15-64 years:  63.45% (male 23,056; female 21,855)
65 years and over:  7.83%
Population growth rate: -0.98% 
Birth rate: 17.81 births/1,000 population 
Death rate: 7.19 deaths/1,000 population 
Net migration rate: -20.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population 
Infant mortality rate: 16.54 deaths/1,000 live births 
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:  73.6 years
male:  70.74 years
female:  76.61 years 
Total fertility rate: 2.03 children born/woman 
Nationality:
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican
Ethnic groups: black, Carib Amerindian
Religions: Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6%
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94%
male: 94%
female: 94% (1970 est.)

History of Dominica

The island’s indigenous Arawak people were expelled or exterminated by Caribs in the 14th century. Columbus landed there in November 1493. Spanish ships frequently landed on Dominica during the 16th century, but fierce resistance by the Caribs discouraged Spain’s efforts at settlement.

In 1635, France claimed Dominica. Shortly thereafter, French missionaries became the first European inhabitants of the island. Carib incursions continued, though, and in 1660, the French and British agreed that both Dominica and St. Vincent should be abandoned. Dominica was officially neutral for the next century, but the attraction of its resources remained; rival expeditions of British and French foresters were harvesting timber by the start of the 18th century.

Largely due to Dominica’s position between Martinique and Guadeloupe, France eventually became predominant, and a French settlement was established and grew. As part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the seven years’ war, the island became a British possession. In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the French mounted a successful invasion with the active cooperation of the population, which was largely French. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, returned the island to Britain. French invasions in 1795 and 1805 ended in failure.

In 1763, the British established a legislative assembly, representing only the white population. In 1831, reflecting a liberalization of official British racial attitudes, the Brown Privilege Bill conferred political and social rights on free nonwhites. Three Blacks were elected to the legislative assembly the following year. Following the abolition of slavery, in 1838 Dominica became the first and only British Caribbean colony to have a Black-controlled legislature in the 19th century. Most Black legislators were small holders or merchants who held economic and social views diametrically opposed to the interests of the small, wealthy English planter class. Reacting to a perceived threat, the planters lobbied for more direct British rule.

In 1865, after much agitation and tension, the colonial office replaced the elective assembly with one comprised of one-half elected members and one-half appointed. The elected legislators were outmaneuvered on numerous occasions by planters allied with colonial administrators. In 1871, Dominica became part of the Leeward Island Federation. The power of the Black population progressively eroded. Crown Colony government was re-established in 1896. All political rights for the vast majority of the population were effectively curtailed. Development aid, offered as compensation for disenfranchisement, proved to have a negligible effect.

Following World War I, an upsurge of political consciousness throughout the Caribbean led to the formation of the representative government association. Marshaling public frustration with the lack of a voice in the governing of Dominica, this group won one-third of the popularly elected seats of the legislative assembly in 1924 and one-half in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Dominica was transferred from the Leeward Island Administration and was governed as part of the Windwards until 1958, when it joined the short-lived West Indies Federation.

After the federation dissolved, Dominica became an associated state of the United Kingdom in 1967 and formally took responsibility for its internal affairs. On November 3, 1978, the Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United Kingdom.

Independence did little to solve problems stemming from centuries of economic underdevelopment, and in mid-1979, political discontent led to the formation of an interim government. It was replaced after the 1980 elections by a government led by the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean’s first female prime minister. Chronic economic problems were compounded by the severe impact of hurricanes in 1979 and in 1980. By the end of the 1980’s, the economy had made a healthy recovery, which weakened in the 1990’s due to a decrease in banana prices.

In February 2000 elections, the Edison James United Workers Party (UWP) was defeated by the Dominican Labor Party (DLP), led by Roosevelt P. “Rosie” Douglas. Douglas died after only a few months in office and was replaced by Pierre Charles, also of the DLP.

Dominica Economy

Economy – overview: The economy depends on agriculture and is highly vulnerable to climatic conditions, notably tropical storms. Agriculture, primarily bananas, accounts for 21% of GDP and employs 40% of the labor force. Development of the tourist industry remains difficult because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the lack of an international airport. Hurricane Luis devastated the country’s banana crop in September 1995; tropical storms had wiped out one-quarter of the crop in 1994 as well. The subsequent recovery has been fueled by increases in construction, soap production, and tourist arrivals. The government is attempting to develop an offshore financial industry in order to diversify the island’s production base..

GDP: purchasing power parity – $290 million (2000 est.)
GDP – real growth rate: 0.5% (2000 est.)
GDP – per capita: purchasing power parity – $4,000 (2000 est.)
GDP – composition by sector:
agriculture: 21%
industry: 16%
services: 63% (1999 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (1998), 2.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 25,000
Labor force – by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28%
Unemployment rate: 20% (1999 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $72 million
expenditures: $79.9 million, including capital expenditures of $11.5 million (FY97/98)
Industries: soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes
Industrial production growth rate: -10% (1997 est.)
Electricity – production: 62 million kWh (1999)
Electricity – production by source:
fossil fuel:  48.39%
hydro:  51.61%
nuclear:  0%
other:  0% (1999)
Agriculture – products: bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited
Exports: $60.8 million (1998), $60.7 million (2000 est.)
Exports – commodities: bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges
Exports – partners: Caricom countries 47%, United Kingdom 36%, United States 7% (1996 est.)
Imports: $120.4 million (1998), $126 million (2000 est.)
Imports – commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals
Imports – partners: United States 41%, Caricom countries 25%, United Kingdom 13%, Netherlands, Canada (1996 est.)
Debt – external: $108.9 million (1999)
Economic aid – recipient: $24.4 million (1995)
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Map of Dominica